


Stress

by ambreuk



Category: British Royalty RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 08:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2500829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambreuk/pseuds/ambreuk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With Kate gone and George ill, William has to cope on his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stress

‘’Honey, wake up – I have to go.’’ Kate leaned over William, who was still half asleep.

‘’Hmmmm? Why is that again?’’

‘’Don’t be stupid Will, I have to get to London to choose my outfits for the tour.’’

‘’Right.’’ He knew that.

‘’I’m already late, so I really have to get going now. I already fed Lupo, but George is still sleeping. You will be allright, you three, won’t you?’’ Kate sounded worried.

‘’Of course, darling, I can cope. I will take George and Lupo out for a nice long walk at the beach. I will even cook us dinner – not Lupo, of course – so I will do the grocery shopping as well. Don’t worry, really.’’ William got up, pulled Kate in a firm embrace and whispered in her ear: ‘’Really, honey, believe me. I’m his Dad, I know things.’’

‘’I know that – it’s just –‘’ 

‘’I know, babe, but you have to learn to let go. You can’t be around him all the time.’’

Kate sighed. ‘’I know. I only wished I could. What if something happens to him and I’m not there? What kind of mother am I?’’

‘’Nothing will happen to him, I’m here to take care of him.’’ William reassured her.

‘’I know, you’re great with him.’’ Kate managed a weak smile.

‘’Weren’t you late already?’’ William asked?

‘’Shit, you’re right! Good luck, honey. I will call you when I’m on my way back.’’ Kate rushed out of the house.

‘’Good luck!’’ Will called after her. ‘’Right’’, he mumbled to himself. ‘’Time to start the day.’’

Peeking into George’s bedroom, he saw that his seven month old was sleeping peacefully, pacifier firm in place. Will decided to have a shower first and then start today’s activities. Apart from taking care of George and Lupo, he had to start writing his speeches for the Royal Tour in Australia and New Zealand next month. He hoped George would sleep as long as possible.

Having himself seated on the couch with his laptop on his lap, he read all the information Jamie had sent him regarding the visits they were going to make. He wanted to know all about the charities and other institutions before he wrote his speeches. Although the work was time consuming, Will wanted to be as informed as possible. That was the least he could do for the hard working people in the other part of the world. 

He hadn’t been working for half an hour or George started crying. Putting his laptop aside, Will made his way towards his baby son. He knew George had to wake up at some point, but hopefully he would play quietly in his play box in the living room. On entering the bedroom, he smelled an sour odor. ‘’Fuck’’, muttered William, ‘’did he throw up?’’ 

George was lying in his crib, completely covered in his own puke. Breathing trough his mouth, William took George out his crib and placed him on the dresser. Instantly, Williams hands were just as dirty as George himself was. ‘’Nasty business you did there Georgie,’’ William said softly to his son. He hesitated what to do. George had never been this sick before. Deciding he first needed to get him clean and warm, he undressed his baby and wrapped a clean blanket around him. Taking him on his arm, he walked to the bathroom. Carefully bending over, so that George couldn’t fall out his arms, he turned the water on. The bath was slowly filling. Rocking George back and forth, he waited for the bath to be ready. George didn’t have this kind of patience. Making a strange kind of cry and coughing at the same time, he threw up again. This time, Williams shirt was the target of choice. 

‘’Fuck!’’ Mad at himself for cursing in front of George and frustrated because of his shirt, he laid some towels on the floor and placed George on them. Stripping and throwing his shirt away, he picked George up again. ‘’Hey boy, what’s the matter with you? Can’t you handle the bottle of milk I gave you last night?’’ George muttered a bit. Will felt the warmth of George’s forehead with the palm of his hand. It was blazing hot. ‘’Great, you have a fever as well.’’ The bath was finally full. Unwrapping George, who started to shiver immediately, William kneeled down and placed George in the baby holder that was placed in the bathtub. Finally having both his hands free, he made sure the water wouldn’t rise higher than George’s head and turned around to wash his shirt in the sink. While he was doing this job, George started crying again. When he turned around, he knew he was already too late. George had thrown up once more, and the water was more than dirty. William started to sweat. He couldn’t catch a break today and it was only 10 am. He then decided for a different approach. Wrapping his son up again in a warm towel, he filled a bucket with lukewarm water and started dipping a washcloth in it. Then he gently scrubbed George clean. The only disadvantage was that George was shivering vigorously. ‘’It’s okay, boy, Daddy is almost done. You’re very brave.’’ At last, George was clean and fresh. Dressing him in warm clothes, William carried him to the living room and placed him in his chair. He didn’t know if George should eat something or what. William didn’t want to call Kate, knowing she would rush back immediately. Now he thought about it, she hadn’t probably arrived in London at all. He considered calling Harry, but he didn’t know as well what to do. Feeling like his only option, Will dialed Carole’s number. Luckily she answered her phone immediately.

‘’William, darling, what a surpise!’’

‘’Hi Carole, how are you doing?’’

‘’Great, we were just about to go out for the day.’’

‘’I hope I’m not interrupting then.’’

‘’No of course not, but I don’t have very much time for you today. Is everything all right? You sound a bit anxious. Did something happen to Kate on her way to London?’’

‘’No no, don’t worry, Kate is fine. It’s about George. He’s very ill and throws up all the time. Nothing I can’t handle, but I’m not quite sure whether I should give him something to eat or not.’’

‘’Oh dear, that poor baby! Uhm, well, you can always try to give him something. If he can’t hold it up, you stop and only give him fluids. Well let’s see. You can try feeding him a little fruit or roast bread, but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t have an appetite. Does he have a fever?’’  
‘’Yes, he does.’’

 

‘’Well, that means he probably isn’t hungry. Try feeding him table spoons of a hydrating solution, and see if that helps. He can have those every thirty minutes. Do you have that in the house?’’

‘’I think so, Kate bought all kinds of stuff when George was born, just in case.’’ William felt a wave of relieve wash through him. He had seen the bottle of the solution just yesterday, when he was looking for something in the cupboards. ‘’Thanks very much, Carole, you’re a great help.’’

‘’Not a problem, darling. It’s always difficult when they are sick at this age. Make sure he is hydrated and don’t worry about his appetite. It’ll come back once the fever is over. Good luck and keep me posted.’’

‘’Will do, Carole, say my regards to Mike for me, please.’’

The first table spoon of fluid William fed George wasn’t a success. Coughing and spluttering, the content of the spoon soon was on his bib. Checking his fever and realizing it hadn’t come down yet, William decided to lie on the couch with George on his chest. He was hoping his warmth would stop George from shivering and that he would hopefully fall asleep. That his baby indeed did. 

Some time later, William woke from his slumber. With George warm on his chest, he had dozed off himself. George was still sleeping. Not wanting to wake him, he placed his index finger very carefully on his baby’s cheeks. Still burning hot. Realizing they were lying there a long time already and it was past noon, William took George in his arms.

‘’You have to wake up, baby boy. It is time for your new spoonful. Hopefully you’ll keep that one down.’’ He kissed his little forehead. 

Slowly, George opened his eyes. Unfocused, he stared at William. George sighed and rested his head on Will’s shoulder.

‘’Shh, it’s okay, baby, Daddy is here with you. Come on, let’s go to the kitchen.’’

Wrapping a blanket around George because he couldn’t any longer take advantage of his Dad’s body warmth, William placed him on his lap, spoon ready in his hand. 

‘’Open your mouth, sweetie. I know you can do it.’’

William fed the liquid in three little sips to his son. This worked. George kept it down. ‘’Good’’, Will thought, ‘’time for the next step.’’ Dressing George in his warm coat with hat and scarf, he prepared them to go to Tesco’s. Lupo had to wait a little longer. Although he was feeling guilty towards George for immediately going out into the cold with him, he had to take advantage of the fact that his son was feeling a little better. The store was close by, but just this one time he would go by car. 

In Tesco’s, he was pushing George in his stroller and putting the groceries beneath him in a basket. He could’ve asked one of his protection officers to stay behind at the car with George, but felt that wasn’t the right thing to do. He was his father, so he had to take care of his sick child. He could imagine the headlines. ‘’William, Duke of Cambridge, too posh to take son into store.’’ No, he was a hands-on Dad, he wanted to be a hands-on Dad. Nearing the check-out, he knew it was wrong again. George gurgled and threw up his tablespoon of fluids. His jacket was covered with it. George started crying, out of pure misery. Attracting attention by just being in the supermarket, people now really started staring and pointing at them. ‘’What do you know’’, mumbled William under his breath, ‘’now there will be headlines after all.’’ Pretending nobody was looking at him and his son, he took George in his arm and tried soothing him. He pitied his little boy so much at this moment, he didn’t mind he got dirty again.

When they finally made it back home, William was facing his next problem. He had to walk the dog. At this point he was feeling drained and exhausted, but he had to keep going. It wasn’t fair to Kate if he didn’t. What would she say if she noticed he did nothing all day, just because his son was ill? She would never leave the house again and, what hurt more, think he couldn’t cope being a Dad on his own. Brainstorming the idea’s what to do, Will dismissed the plan to walk Lupo through the village of Anglesey. People had stared enough at him today. The only option left was going to the beach, but at the beach he couldn’t push George in his stroller. Then it hit him. They had been given a baby carrier backpack from Carole and Michael when George was old enough to go with them on walks. He would put George in that backpack and carry him. That would leave his hands free to fuss about Lupo. Glad because he thought about that, he went to find the carrier. The only disadvantage was that George could throw up on his neck, but he had to risk it. He hadn’t eaten anything after the Tesco’s fiasco, so chances that would happen were not too big. 

Strolling along the beach, with Lupo cheerfully running around him and George and then after some birds and into the sea, William could finally relax. He soft breathing he felt from behind meant probably that George was sleeping. He wasn’t sure, but did not want to wake him by taking off the carrier to make out he was sure. 

For the first time this day, William relaxed and let his mind wander. He thought about the upcoming start of the polo season – he missed playing with Harry - about the upcoming Royal Tour and what Kate was doing at the moment. She was probably looking at sketches and proto types of dozens of classy dresses. She even thought about what was proper for him to wear. Will grinned. Luckily he didn’t have to think about that too. Making a speech on almost every occasion was stressful enough. Realizing he was already walking more than an hour and George couldn’t get cold, he turned around and started his way back. He probably would have a sore back tonight and tomorrow, but it was worth it. Everything for his little boy.

Back home, he started cooking dinner. George had gone cold, so he tried to feed him a little bit of lukewarm milk. Thankfully, George had accepted his bottle greedily. Now he was sleeping in his Maxi-Cosi, which stood on the kitchen table. Clutching his stuffed bear tightly in his one hand, and the extra blanket in the other, he made little snoring noises. William looked contently at his son. Now that he was eating again, he could worry less. He could cope, when his child was ill. 

Or maybe he could not. ‘’Shit.’’ Will said out loud. He totally forgot about George’s bedroom. It probably reeked very strong of puke at this point and it would take very hot water to wash it all clean. ‘’All right, Will, one thing at a time. This extra hour doesn’t matter anyway. That will not get the sheets cleaner.’’ He ate really fast en set to work again. With the bedding and the kitchen finally clean, the day’s work was done. He changed George into his comfy pajamas and put him to bed. He hadn’t thrown up all evening and his fever was finally lowering. ‘’Please be better tomorrow, sweetie.’’ Will was rocking George on his arm until his eyes closed. ‘’I love you, baby boy, but you’re a lot more fun if you’re healthy. Then we can play together again, you and me. Sleep tight, Georgie.’’ Will kissed him softly and laid him down carefully in his crib. 

‘’Hey honey! You weren’t picking up your phone! I called three hours ago, meaning to tell you I was going home. Why are you asleep on the couch?’’ Kate was home.

Will opened his eyes. ‘’Hmmm, what?’’

‘’Will, it’s 2 am in the morning. Why aren’t you in bed? I’m exhausted, let’s go upstairs. You know Georgie is waking up early.’’

That did it. With a startle, William got up. ‘’George! I have to check on George!’’

He ran past a stunned Kate and stormed to his son. ‘’Oh, thank god.’’ George was sleeping peacefully.

‘’Will! You’re scaring me! What’s the matter?’’ Kate looked at him, worry and astonishment in her eyes.

‘’He’s ill, darling. He threw up like six times or so. He had a really heavy fever, but thankfully it’s lessening already now.’’

‘’WHAT?! Why didn’t you call me?!’’ blurted Kate.

‘’Because you had your clothing appointment and I knew you were going home immediately if I called you. I know you were, Kate, don’t look at me like that. Look, I called your Mum and she gave me some really good advice. I handled everything. Listen.’’

When Will was done talking, Kate’s worry had switched to amazement. ‘’You really did that all on your own?’’

‘’Well, I did call your mother and for a moment I considered inviting Harry to help.’’

Kate chuckled. ‘’I doubt that was a good idea.’’

‘’I know. That’s why I didn’t pursue it.’’

‘’You did really great, honey. I mean it. Keeping the household running in every possible way and still taking care of George. I’m proud of you.’’ Kate kissed her husband. 

Will smiled at her. ‘’Thank you. I will never complain that I’m tired after a work day when you’ve been home all the time. It really is exhausting.’’

‘’It is. Now, let’s go upstairs again. I want to check on George one last time.’’

Standing in the doorway of their son’s bedroom, Kate and William had their eyes locked on their baby son. ‘’I’m so glad he’s asleep’’, sighed Will. ‘’Hopefully, he feels better tomorrow.’’

‘’Of course he will,’’ Kate answered. ‘’It’s a strong little boy. And if not, he has an amazing Daddy who will take care of him.’’


End file.
